9 June 2022
So many fledge watches! How many of us wish we could fly about like the birds?
L1 and L2 have both returned to their natal nest on the Fernow light stand on the Cornell Campus. Big Red and Arthur have been bringing prey. Today when L2 flew back and wanted to take L3 and L4’s lunch, Big Red went and got it and fed the two smallest chicks. It was interesting. Someone asked if they return to the nest and the answer is ‘yes’ for the first several weeks you might catch them but once they fledge Big Red really does like to feed the fledglings ‘off nest’. She has been known to ‘get upset’ with Arthur for feeding the wee babes on the nest!
At 17:20 with all four on the nest, Big Red returns with another chipmunk for dinner.
They are on fledge watch at Utica scrape as falcons Percy and Kara are spending time on the ledge! Little Ares is grateful – they are focused on flying and he gets a great meal!
The Glaslyn osplets are thinking about food – not fledging – as they gobble down the fish that Aran brought to the nest for Mrs G to feed them!
Blue NC0 and the three are really benefiting from Laddie’s fishing lately at the Loch of the Lowes. He brought in 9 fish on the 7th! How wonderful!
Despite Idris being a remarkable fisher, that Big Bob is nothing but a handful. Emyr Evans describes it as ‘play aggression’ when the are beaking one another. It is true. Ospreys in the UK rarely die from siblicide – unlike their counterparts in the US where we have seen a number of cases in the large raptors this year. Normally Telyn gets it all sorted and all are fed.
Little Bit has been really good at the snatch and grab at the ND-LEEF nest. A raccoon came to the nest and it has been going back and forth switching from one sibling to the other. At 13:54 Little Bit 17 stole it from the beaking sibling 16 and he was working on it again later after 16 took it back. Little Bit has had a very large crop today so it is another good day for this hard working eaglet who doesn’t seem to be afraid and who is ever so quick!
Little Bit 17 is growing. Just look at the span of the wings and the tail feathers.
There has been a lot of speculation on the chat at the ND-LEEF nest that because Little Bit is a small male – is that true? – we don’t know – that it would not be able to find a mate. Perhaps we should step back from that statement. We do not know what happens to any unmonitored raptor. We can only hope that they survive their first year. Little Bit has some advantages – being small and quick is one of them. Reading the environment well is another. Willing to eat anything to survive is another but his quickness and his ability to manoeuvre will be key.
It has been miserable and rainy in Mlade Buky, The Czech Republic. Still Bukacek and Betty are feeding their wee storklets.
Both Lady and Dad spent the night at the WBSE nest in the old Ironbark tree in the Sydney Olympic Park. Friday morning Lady is rolling the first egg. Will there be a second? Stay tuned.
At the Redding nest, Sentry is at 15:20 nest time up on a very high branch! Will he fludge or fledge?
Here is the link to the Redding camera if you do not have it:
Both fledglings are back on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest hoping for a fish delivery!
All three are on the cliff nest of Thunder and Akecheta waiting for some prey drops, too! Sky has been getting ready – hovering and jumping.
So much going on! Most doing very well.
Thank you for joining me as I jumped around and checked on a few of our nests that we have been watching. Take care all. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies, Cornell RTH, Mlade Buky, Friends of Redding Eagles, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, ND-LEEF, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Woodland Trust, and Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn.